Matthew 11:28-29
How can I help you?
Impatience, anger and attitudes
Impatience, anger and attitudes
Boiling in your heart and mind
Are clouding up your view.
How can I help you?
Distractions, haughtiness and pride
Distractions, haughtiness and pride
Build up a wall of stubbornness
To silence desperate cries.
How can I help you?
Discouragement, uncertainty and fear
Discouragement, uncertainty and fear
Are choking out your will to thrive;
My voice you cannot hear.
I cannot help you…
Until I hear your desperate knock;
For I would never force a mule
To yoke up with an ox.
Matthew 11:28-29
Yoke…makes me think of oxen…did some research and this is what I found:
In the days of pioneers, oxen were the first choice for work animals
Oxen
Quiet
Unassuming
Give more than they take
Willing to work long hours
Low maintenance
Humble
Gentle
Persevering
Great strength
Plod…walk very slowly (about 2 mph), but steady
Dependable
Patient
Durable
Don’t run off…never have to be chased down
Plunge through mud, swim over streams, dive into thickets, eat almost anything
Able to endure exposure to the elements of nature
The other option was mules:
Mules
Hard to work with
Don’t always like people
Hard to catch
Spoiled habits
Moody
Bad attitude
Impatient
Has to get used to new surroundings
Would love to stand around and eat/drink all day
Very curious. Needs blinders to avoid getting distracted
Squirmy
Inattentive
Bothered by touch
Easily upset, angered, startled…which results in them being uncontrollable…can lead to danger
Has to be properly trained and conditioned to be willing to go where you want them to go, do what
you want them to do, to lead and be led
If they aren’t willing…you don’t stand a chance
Question: Would you yoke a mule with an ox?
Matthew 11:28
Come…approach me, make yourself available, reach out for me, need me, extend your hand to reach for mine, confess your sins, humble yourself, repent!
All ye that are heavy laden…loaded with physical, emotional, mental or spiritual burden
And I will give you rest…I will give you…not make you earn…rest… trust me…just lean all your weight on me and I will support you.
Question: Ask yourself…Am I a mule or an ox?
Question: I ask again…would you yoke a mule to an ox?
Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you....Humble yourself…I’m reaching out to you…be willing to accept me, my strength, my power, my help, my love
Learn of me…read and study about me…follow me…stay with me, I’ll show you, I’ll help you
I am meek and lowly of heart…I am gentle and humble, kind and loving, accepting, friendly
And ye shall find rest…comfort…peace…calm and quiet…strength and hope…freedom from trouble,
anxiety, troubled thoughts or emotions
* If you feel you have been wronged by anyone:
A family member
A friend
A Church leader
A business associate
Or by anything:
The death of a loved one
Health problems
A financial reversal
Abuse
Addictions
Deal with the matter directly and with all the strength you have. “Hold on thy way”. Giving up is not an option. And without delay, turn to the Lord. Exercise all of the faith you have in Him. Let Him share your burden. Allow His grace to lighten your load.
* Never let an earthly circumstance disable you spiritually.
* No matter the size of the issue, how we respond can reset the course of our life.
* Don’t just endure…endure righteously
* Continually turn to the Lord
* The Savior’s most exemplary (setting a pattern for us to follow) act, the Atonement, required him to descend below all things. Thus we understand the Atonement has broader purpose than providing a means to overcome sin. This greatest of all earthly accomplishments gives the Savior the power to fulfill this promise: “If ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence…if ye do this, he will…deliver you out of bondage”.
